Posts Tagged ‘Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd’

SHOW ME THE MONEY: Sanjay Dutt, Zayed Khan and Akshay Kumar; (top) Lara Dutta in the film

Huge opening adds to the celebrations

MEENA IYER Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; October 22, 2009)

The extended Diwali weekend has proved to be a boon for last week’s Bollywood releases. Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd’s underwater thriller Blue that opened this Festival of Lights, benefitted big time because it raked in a huge initial in the celebration period.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “The promotion and publicity helped it to get a grand opening.” He also believes that since India hadn’t seen any thrillers involving underwater action sequences, this proved to be the USP of the film.

Uday Singh, CEO, PVR Pictures, says, “We opened wide… and the first four days’ collections have been extremely encouraging.” Uday feels that Blue is a large screen spectacle and the audience is taken in by the sheer opulence of the product.

The makers of the film are upbeat, too, because they say that the opening weekend collection is one of the best initials an Akshay Kumar film has taken. “The Khiladi has proved once again that he is one of the biggest Bollywood stars,” says a leading distributor.

International pop superstar Kylie Minogue’s ditty Chiggy Wiggy with Akshay has also found its share of fans. “Blue has hit the jackpot,” is Taran’s opinion.

It is estimated that the film’s collection has benefitted by the sheer magnitude of the number of screens it hit — over 2,000 worldwide. And with no new major releases lined up this week, Blue still holds viewers’ fancy.meena.iyer@timesgroup.com

Director Anthony D’Souza spills the beans on the costliest film ever made that’s releasing on Friday

MEENA IYER Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; October 14, 2009)

Anthony D’Souza is the man behind Bollywood’s costliest film — Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd’s Blue that’s releasing this Diwali (October 16). And he admits that his producers have actually let money flow like water to make this big screen spectacle. “It is the first Bollywood film to be shot in the Bahamas,’’ says Tony, adding that he chose the location despite the heavy cost because it was the only place in the world where he could shoot with live sharks. The budget skyrocketed further because the food and drinking water had to come from Florida.

However, on the eve of the film’s release, the debutant director is hardly worrying his head over the accounts. Instead, he is excited about having made India’s first under-water film and says he is completely indebted to his producer Dhilin Mehta for partaking in his vision. He has also had Hollywood technicians like Amir Mokri (Bad Boys-II) to give him expert advice. Tony is also all praise for his actors. “Sanjay Dutt was the first one who I gave a narration to — and he agreed almost immediately. In fact, he will also be in my next film titled Bond.’’

About Akshay Kumar, the film’s backbone, the director says, “Akshay is the most unselfish, punctual, dedicated, uncomplicated actor I have ever met. Stories about his interference are a myth.’’ But Tony is partial to his leading lady Lara Dutta whom he salutes because she learnt to swim in three months and was then swimming with the sharks like a pro. The film’s youngest actor Zayed Khan is a friend, he says. “I love Zayed because he is frank, forthright and the perfect choice for my film.’’

But even Tony admits that Blue wouldn’t be complete without those magical seven minutes of Katrina Kaif. Says the director, “Katrina is a thorough professional. She takes her work very seriously. Katz is the female Akshay and, like him, she is a very punctual actor.’’meena.iyer@timesgroup.com

TIMES NEWS NETWORK (BOMBAY TIMES; October 7, 2009)

Lara Dutta’s living out of a suitcase these days. Shooting back-to-back for one film after another, the past few months have seen the Bollywood stunner go from the Bahamas to Cambodia and London. “I have rested enough,” says Lara referring to the lull in her career last year after a rocking 2007. “Now I’m just looking forward to work and more work.”

The actress is taking her glam avatar to sizzling heights this year as she puts her best bikini bod forward in Anthony D’Souza’s Akshay Kumar-Sanjay Dutt and Zayed Khan starrer Blue. Produced by Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd, the film that releases on October 16 required Lara at her sexilicious best. Though she had no hang-ups about showing off her toned figure, she does admit that there’s a “lot of hard working out to get into a bikini on screen”.

“Having a good body gives you a lot of confidence to carry off any look. But the emphasis is always on being and feeling fit. That’s sexy and, yes, sexy is fun!,” she says about her hot beach look in the film that promises to catapult her into the league of Btown’s sexilicious brigade of Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra. The ‘water-babe’ also reveals that she’s as excited about this underwater action thriller as she’s about the other two comedies lined up soon after — Housefull and Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai. Having performed some daredevil stunts for Blue, she’s gearing up for some more action-oriented films. “I am really dying to play a super hero,” she laughs. “I would love to at least have one superpower — either the flying bit or the invisibility one. That’s always been my childhood dream.” And if she could turn invisible for a day? “I would like to find out who’s behind spreading all the rumours,” she laughs referring to reports of her being upset about co-star Katrina Kaif ’s role being increased and being overshadowed by international pop queen Kylie Minogue in Blue. As for the question that’s high on almost everyone’s mind… is Bollytown’s sexy lady single? Lara says, “I hope to be in a steady relationship some day. But I am not going to shout from rooftops if I do find true love. My private life is not for public consumption.”
— Aakanksha Naval-Shetye

For promoting the film worldwide, BLUE is planned to be premiered in Dubai, London and New York. The film will not only be exhibited in the ethnic territories, but will also be distributed and seen in the non-ethnic territories like Mexico, Scandinavian countries, etc. It is expected to be released in 650 screens around the world, making it one of the biggest Bollywood releases in the overseas market.

Hiren Gada, Director, Shemaroo Entertainment shares his thoughts, ”With the international appeal the film has, the first look of BLUE got a tremendous response from non-ethnic territories. We are glad to be associated with Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd. for this huge project and are really looking forward to taking it worldwide. Our subsidiaries in US & UK will be handling key territories of North America & Europe. With a catalog of more than 750 Indian films distributed by us in international territories, this is the next logical step for our international business.”

Dhilin Mehta, Director, Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd. shares his thoughts, ”BLUE is an ambitious project in terms of style, production values, standards, creativity etc… It’s a team effort as not only the production team, but also the captain of the ship, the director, his crew along with the Hollywood technicians and the experienced cast of the film. We are trying to release BLUE in maximum number of screens, to get an international appeal and target people of all ages. Technically and visually this film will be one of the best Bollywood has never seen before, it’s the first time in India movie has been shot 250 feet deep in the sea this is the USP of our film.”

Our Oscar Winners A R Rahman and Resul Pookutty have given the Music/ Background Score and the Sound Design respectively. To add to this, one of the dance numbers has been performed by the famous international pop star Kylie Minogue.

The film has been shot in ‘Bahamas’ – the country of islands, in the Atlantic Ocean & Bangkok -Thailand. The best Hollywood Technicians have worked on the film giving it an absolutely international look and feel. The Cinematography has been done by Laxman Utekar and underwater Cinematography by Pete Zuccarini which is the highlight of the film.

Apart from the casting, BLUE certainly has a lot to talk about and hope for the best.

A last minute AR Rahman song featuring Akshay is being added to salvage Blue

By Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 05, 2009)

Akshay Kumar

Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd is getting jittery about their next release Blue. Blame it on the shocking failure of their multi-starrer, adventure-caper Luck in which they had pumped in a reported Rs 35 crore. Luckily for them, the film was bought over from them by Studio 18 at the last minute. Studio 18 lost approximately Rs 15-20 crore on Luck.

But now, with Blue lined up for release on October 16, it’s unlikely that TV 18 or any other major corporate studio will come forward to buy this exorbitant underwater adventure.

A source said, “The budget of Blue has shot up to more than Rs 70 crore for various reasons, including Sanjay Dutt’s dates. It would require a miracle to recover that kind of money. So before the release, the producers plan to pump up the star value as much as possible.”

Apparently, the film’s makers are also planning to cash in on Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif’s collective star power in Blue, though the two are not paired up. Katrina only has a guest appearance, but she is considered super-lucky after the success of New York and her string of successes before that. Akshay Kumar has a negative role, but has been asked to perform an extra song for the film. In fact, the film’s music composer A R Rahman, who’s currently down in India, has been busy putting together a song for Akshay.

Director Tony D’Souza confirms this last-minute embellishment. He said, “We have a song to shoot with Akshay. We’re waiting for him to find time to shoot it. It will be played with the film’s end credits. Akshay prefers the British Bhangra band, RDB. But in Blue, we’re giving him a Rahman track to jive to. Now that’s an offer Akshay cannot resist.”

By the time Akshay returns from London, it will be too close the release date. So the star is expected to fly down to Mumbai for a couple of days this month, to shoot for the song and then return to London.

TIMES NEWS NETWORK (BOMBAY TIMES; July 24, 2009)

Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd.’s new film Luck releases worldwide today, and you may place your bets on Dhilin Mehta, the production house’s MD, becoming the next big business honcho to watch out for in Bollywood!

Young and talented, he took over the reins immediately after graduating from B-School, and since then has taken the company to new heights with a spate of blockbuster family entertainers like Golmaal, Bhagam Bhag, Jab We Met and Golmaal Returns.

Of today’s release, starring Sanjay Dutt, Imran Khan, Shruti Haasan, Mithun Chakraborthy, Danny Denzongpa, Ravi Kissen and Chitrashi Rawat, Dhilin promised, “Luck is a complete thriller and will keep audiences at the edge of their seats. The intriguing theme of human betting combined with the eclectic combination of talents makes it a perfect entertainer. The stars have performed some extraordinary death-defying stunts and that is the highlight of the film.”

But director Soham Shah offered another take: “Behind every big film you require a bigger producer who shares the same vision and has faith in his director. The ideas of ‘luck’ and ‘betting’ apply very aptly to filmmaking where producers like Dhilin put such enormous sums of money in a project that they believe in.”

And Soham’s right, from getting custom-made gold and diamond accessories for Sanjay Dutt to calling for paragliding experts from different parts of the world for an action scene, Dhilin has spared no expense to satisfy his director’s creative requirements.

Rohit Shetty, who’s worked with the production house for Golmaal and Golmaal Retuns, said, “They go with the director’s conviction. It’s been a fabulous experience and I hope it continues with Golmaal 3, which we intend to start very soon.”

Likewise, Imtiaz Ali, who shot to fame after his film Jab We Met, praised Dhilin, “Working with Shree Ashtavinayak was extremely smooth and hassle-free and that was an important reason behind the success of the film.”

Dhilin, however, described his success mantra as being “all about vision, passion and having a sound business strategy”. The filmmaker, who has projects like Blue, Run Bhola Run and Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh releasing this year, added, tongue firmly in cheek, “Of course, it is always important to have that ‘Luck’ factor favouring you!”